Wednesday 6 December 2017

Home going by Yaa Gyasi

Home going (published in 2016) is a debut novel by Yaa  Gyasi. It  is about slaves , slave traders and their life  over many generations , spread across  Ghana and Gold Coast in Africa , Birmingham in Britain and Albama, Mississippi , Harlem , New York and Stanford in the USA. It is both ambitious and courageous in scope , and by the time you reach the end of its 300 pages  , you are spell bound .

                It traces the history of slavery  in a style that evokes compassion and courage. Some of the incidents  described are  bordering on horror  but the  author  keeps them close to the possibility of humanity. The book tells us how and why the world changes slowly and painfully through generations  , and why it is the way it is.In the process , it  gives voice to the suppressed and inspires us to make this world a better place.It makes us understand the  world better. It is one book which demonstrates  how a work of fiction can teach us better than any other  way. Though a debut , this novel has the potential to become a classic.I highly  recommend it .

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